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New House bill expands maternity leave by 3 months, grants paternity leave
A new bill initiated by House lawmakers has won unanimous endorsement from Baleg, with several landmark provisions supporting pregnant women, especially working women.
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Lawmakers attend a House of Representatives plenary session on March 8, 2021 at the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta. (Antara/Galih Pradipta)
T
he House of Representatives Legislation Body (Baleg) has unanimously endorsed a bill on mother and child welfare containing a provision that extends maternity leave to a minimum of 6 months, paving the way to a better working environment for mothers.
Lawmakers are expected to approve the House-initiated bill at the next plenary session, following Baleg’s endorsement last week.
Luluk Nur Hamidah, a lawmaker from the National Awakening Party (PKB) who was among the legislators that proposed the bill, expressed her hope that the government would prepare a presidential letter and an inventory of issues (DIM) for deliberating at the next session.
The landmark bill grants a minimum maternity leave of six months, three months more than the current leave regulated in Law No. 13/2003 on manpower. The bill also guarantees full pay for the first three months, followed by 75 percent pay for the next three months.
It also entitled women to “prepregnancy, pregnancy and postnatal health services", Luluk told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Furthermore, the bill stipulates a minimum leave of 1.5 months following a miscarriage, or as advised by a doctor. The current provisions grant a mere three to four days off in the event that a woman miscarries.
Article 6 of the bill grants paternity leave to husbands for a maximum of 40 days following the birth of a child, while it grants a seven-day leave to fathers following the loss of a pregnancy.
